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03 Aug 2015 4:42:51am

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"What does need to be changed is the silly rule making it illegal (there has been at least 1 prosecution for this) to CAMPAIGN for null-voting. I.e. it is allowable to put in a blank voting form, but you aren't allowed to tell people that they can do that!"

Unfortunately you're wrong, Azrael. The reason it's illegal to campaign for a blank vote is because it is actually illegal to put in a blank form. When the Electoral Commission posters tell you: Voting is Compulsory! - they are presenting the true legal situation. Although it's commonly thought in this country that "you only have to turn up" and can legally enter an informal vote, this is not the case. People get away with informal voting only because there's no way the authorities can tell that you've voted informal. Technically, by deliberately refusing to vote for any of the candidates, you have broken the law.